1. Field of the Invention
The invention disclosed herein relates to the general field of musical instruments, especially stringed musical instruments having fretted necks such as guitars, basses, and mandolins and, more particularly to a system and method of securing strings to the musical instrument which allows the musician to alter the tonal sound characteristics of the stringed musical instrument.
1. Description of Related Art
Stringed musical instruments have been known for many thousands of years and include harps, violins (with fretless fingerboards), and guitars (with fretted fingerboards). When the string of a stringed instrument is plucked, it vibrates according to its harmonic modes and natural frequencies. The energy generated by the vibrating string is transmitted to the adjacent air and other parts of the musical instrument. A relatively recent development in stringed musical instruments is the electric guitar, invented by Les Paul, by which the vibration of metal strings is picked by magnetic pickups to create an electrical and/or electronic signal for amplification and processing. In modem music, electric guitars are one of the instruments of choice due to the dynamic range, portability, and artistic expression available through them. However, guitars are not the only stringed instruments which have been subject to electrification so that a wide variety of tuned, musically aligned, or coordinated stringed musical instruments are now available to the musical artist.
Virtually all of stringed musical instruments, acoustic or electric, include a main body part to which is attached at least one end of what is usually a plurality of strings. A neck is typically attached to the main body part along with the strings extending until they reach the longitudinal outer end thereof where they are fixed to the distal end of the neck, usually to some sort of tuning apparatus, in order to selectively apply tension to the strings. As indicated, sounds are produced by the musical instrument by plucking, or by strumming or bowing the strings which have been stretched between their points of attachment. Generally, the string and the qualities and characteristics of the instrument upon which the string is strung control the tonal related qualities for the instrument. The nature of the sound produced by the strings in particular is a function of many different variables and factors including the material of which the strings are made, the manner in which the strings are constructed, the length of the strings from their point of attachment on the main body part to their point of attachment at the distal end of the neck including whether there is any intermediate support between those two points of attachment, the amount of tension applied to the strings, the nature of the attachment of the strings to the body of the musical instrument and other factors.
Inventors have made efforts over the years to improve the mounted arrangement of strings on stringed musical instrument to improve the sound quality of the instrument and to enable the musician to generate new sounds and combination of sounds. One such mounting arrangement often used in electric guitars is a tremolo unit which allows the musician to alter an existing string tone or existing string tones by an increase or decrease in string tension. Examples of such tremolo units may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,661 to Rose and 3,916,729 to Burns et al. More recent examples of tremolo units may be found in U.S. Patent Application Publications Nos. 2005/0204892 and 2005/010897, as examples. Other inventors in this area have adapted guitar tailpieces/bridges to allow for adjustment in string tension. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,733 to Quan and 4,366,740 to Tripp disclose combined bridge and tailpiece structures for adjustment of string tension individually or in combination as disclosed by Quan. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0217634 discloses a guitar having a “bendable” neck which allows the musician to alter the length of the guitar strings and, thus, affect string tension. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0150348 discloses another string mounting arrangement consisting of an adjustable tailpiece for an electric guitar which permits the musician to selectively change string tension.
In another tract, U.S. Pat. No. 6,563,032 to Gregory discloses a multi-plane headstock to which the strings of a stringed musical instrument may be attached to control string tension and the angle at which the string breaks from the plane of the strings over the fingerboard. Other relevant innovations in the area of string mounting arrangements in stringed musical instruments include a removable nut assembly for quick release of tension in the strings as disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0159204, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,525,246 to Erismann which discloses a travel guitar with as detachable body and neck structure that has the strings of guitar secured thereto.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for system and method of adjusting string tension in a stringed musical instrument which allows instruments' tone to be adjusted over a wide range to suit the musician's preference and, further, which allows the string tension adjustment to be made quickly and easily.